TSC Alliance Q&A
Who is involved in the TSCA?
At the commencement of 2024, leading sustainable travel & tourism certification organisations formed a TSCA to address better practices and improve cooperation across the globe. These certification organisations and their related educational and training bodies include Biosphere: Instituto de Turismo Responsable; Ecotourism Australia; Good Travel Seal; Green Globe Certification; Foundation for Environmental Education (Green Key and Blue Flag); Green Key Global; TourCert; Travelife for Accommodation; and Travelife for Tour Operators.
This collaboration, acting as founding members, has formed a new non-profit association the TSCA Tourism Sustainability Certifications Alliance.
How many travel and tourism enterprises and destinations engage in sustainable tourism certification?
The 9 certification organisations represented in the TSCA have a combined clientele of more than 19,000 certified sustainable tourism enterprises and destinations globally.
What is the purpose of sustainability certification for travel and tourism?
Sustainable tourism certification is a process to assess an enterprise or destination’s conformity to an internationally accepted set of criteria for sustainability in tourism operation and management.
Certification acts as a fundamental process to mitigate against greenwashing. For decades the certification organisations have utilised the process of independent, third-party audits to assure the veracity of an enterprise or destination’s performance across a range of sustainability criteria covering environmental, socio-economic, cultural-heritage and climate factors.
What are the benefits to travellers?
To assist travellers in making the best choices, online travel agents such as Booking.com, use the certification organisations to provide a comprehensive list of their certified enterprises and destinations.
What are the benefits of TSCA?
The success of the TSCA to date has been to identify new pathways to work together and support the tourism industry, including the intention to cooperate on identifying solutions for tourism businesses and destinations to benefit from sustainable practices.
Under the EU Green Claims Directive, businesses and destinations can only use sustainability labels that are based on a certification scheme which utilizes a third party to verify performance against the certification standard.
As self-assessment and other non-verified green programs and labels are disqualified for use, the TSCA aims to ensure the best possible choice of verified certification schemes and labels to match the size, type and location of travel and tourism businesses and destinations.
What are the core goals of TSCA?
As the global leaders in sustainable tourism certification, these organisations understand that it is only through dialogue and reviewing practices, that they can future-proof the travel industry in a world demanding greater levels of sustainability and verification of green claims.
The certification organisations will continue to work with all industry groups and associations promoting certification as a means of building sustainability across the travel and tourism industry.
How will competing certification labels work together?
The certification organisations recognise that they share international standards for sustainable tourism, and at the same time provide local interpretations and methodologies that meet the needs of a vast number of cultural differences, organisational types, and geographic locations. This is why the certification organisations have developed a minimum sustainability standard which is the standard that all must follow at a minimum. This minimum standard provides a universal basis for certification of sustainable tourism, while allowing tourism businesses and destinations to choose from the variety of certification labels to meet operational needs and demands of guests and customers.
Certfication and accreditation Q&A
What is accreditation vs. certification?
Certification is a process where the conformity of products, services, management systems, or businesses is assessed by a third-party, known as certification body. It’s a way of showing that the object of the assessment meets specific standards, expressed in the form of requirements and criteria. For example, hotels can participate in a certification process and be assessed for conformity with requirements on how they provide tourism accommodation services.
Accreditation, on the other hand, is a formal recognition that a certification body is qualified to audit and certify according to certain standards. Think of it as a quality stamp for certifiers.
In summary, certification is a third-party attestation that a product, service, management system, or business conforms with certain standards, while accreditation is for the organizations that can certify them.
What is verification?
According to international standards on conformity assessment, verification is checking that claims meet certain standards and requirements through the provision of objective evidence. It’s a process that ensures that claims about the past, present, or future qualities of a business, product, or service are substantiated by factual evidence.
How do Certification Bodies (CBs) do 3rd-party conformity assessment (auditing)?
CBs carry out 3rd-party conformity assessments by conducting audits, where they visit or assess a business to check if it meets standards.
According to international standards on conformity assessment, an audit is a process to obtain objective evidence, which is then evaluated to determine conformity with specific requirements and criteria.
Therefore, auditing is a conformity assessment technique, which can take different shapes based on who conducts the audit and the degree of interaction with the object of the conformity assessment.
How do 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd- party audits differ?
According to international standards, depending on the entity conducting the audit, the process can be qualified as:
1st party audit: the entity assessing conformity is the same as the one being assessed (i.e. self-assessment). This is also known as “internal audit”.
2nd party conformity assessment: the entity assessing conformity has user interest in the object of conformity assessment (e.g. a customer auditing a supplier).
3rd party conformity assessment: the entity assessing conformity is independent from the one being assessed (e.g. a certification body auditing a hotel as part of certification).
Certification is by definition a third-party attestation resulting from third-party conformity assessment processes. Third-party conformity assessment ensures high levels of impartiality and competence in the certification process.
What is the difference between an onsite and remote audit?
According to international standards on conformity assessments, audits can be differentiated in:
Remote audits, where the auditor does not visit the premises of the business that is being assessed, and either interacts with the auditee with other media, or prioritises document review or data analysis remotely;
On-site audits, where the auditor visits the premises of the auditee and carries out a variety of checks to ensure conformity with the criteria, including e.g., interviews, on-site inspections, document review, sampling, etc.
In some cases, CBs can deploy a combination of the two types of audits to optimise the conformity assessment process. In general, while on-site audits are more expensive and time-consuming, where implemented, they do offer a more thorough and realistic picture of whether the object of conformity does meet the requirements of a certain standard.
What is the difference between a Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) and a Conformity Assessment Scheme (CAS)
CAB (Conformity Assessment Body): an organization that performs conformity assessment activities (e.g., certification, verification, or testing) to ensure that products, services, businesses, or management systems meet certain standards.
CAS (Conformity Assessment Scheme): the rules and processes that CABs follow to certify businesses. Examples include standards for sustainable tourism accommodation, destinations, or in general for the provision of tourism-related services according to recognised sustainable practices.
TSCA members must be either a CAS that outsources conformity assessment activities to a CAB, or both a CAS and a CAB.
What is a standard (certification standard)?
A certification standard is a set of specific requirements a business must meet to achieve certification. For tourism, a standard might include criteria for sustainability, safety, or customer service quality.
What is the difference between a Scheme Owner and a Certification Body?
Scheme Owner: creates and maintains the CAS, for example by regularly updating the requirements of the scheme to stay up to date with the latest recognised good practices in the sector they operate in.
Certification Body: uses the CAS to assess and certify the object of conformity assessment (e.g., hotel, destination, beach, etc.) for the scheme they have been assessed against.
What is ISO, and which standards apply to accreditation? Why are they credible?
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is an international body that develops standards across industries to ensure quality and reliability.
For the accreditation of bodies certifying products and services (e.g. tourism accommodation, tourism destination services, etc.), the relevant ISO standards that must be followed is determined by the accreditation body (AB).
Generally, and at a minimum, conformity assessment schemes must comply with ISO/IEC 17067 whilst conformity assessment bodies must comply with ISO/IEC 17065. Often some or all of other ISO standards are also used.
ISO standards are credible because they’re developed by global experts and follow strict, agreed-upon procedures.
The difference between a National Accreditation Body (NAB) and a private Accreditation Body (AB)
National Accreditation Body (NAB): officially recognized by the government to accredit Certification Bodies. Often operates under strict national standards. For example, in the European Union, NABs are identified according to “EC Regulation 765/2008” – setting out requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products.
Any reputable NAB will be a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).
Private AB: A non-governmental organization that can also provide accreditation but may have different standards or processes than the ones identified in official legislative acts.
What is the typical certification process?
According to international standards on conformity assessments, the certification process typically includes these steps:
Application: the candidate business voluntarily submits their application to the CB to start the conformity assessment process.
Application review: the CB checks that information shared by the applicant is sufficient to conduct the conformity assessment steps required to assess conformity against the standard.
Evaluation: the CB deploys competent staff to conduct the necessary conformity assessment activities (e.g., audits) and collects objective evidence of conformity (or non-conformity) with the requirements of the standard.
Review: the CB deploys competent staff independent from those who have been involved in the evaluation step to ensure that the conclusions about the conformity of the assessed object are demonstrated with reliability.
Decision: the CB deploys competent staff independent from those who have been involved in the evaluation step to take the final decision about the certification.
Surveillance: in some cases (for example for the conformity assessment of services), iterations of evaluation, review, and decision steps are needed after the certification has been granted to ensure that conformity with the requirements of the standard is still ensured.
Glossary
Term | Definition | Source |
AB – Accreditation Body | authoritative body that performs accreditation | ISO 17011 |
Accreditation | third-party attestation related to a conformity assessment body conveying formal demonstration of its competence to carry out specific conformity assessment tasks | ISO 17011 |
CAB – Conformity Assessment Body | body that performs conformity assessment activities, excluding accreditation. In the case of certification, this is called CB / Certification Body. In the case of verification, this is called VB / Verification Body. | ISO 17000 |
CAS – Conformity Assessment Scheme | set of rules and procedures that describes the objects of conformity assessment, identifies the specified requirements and provides the methodology for performing conformity assessment | ISO 17000 |
CB – Certification body |
| ISO 17065 |
Certification | third-party attestation related to an object of conformity assessment, with the exception of accreditation | ISO 17000 |
Conformity assessment | demonstration that specified requirements are fulfilled. Conformity assessment activities include for example certification, inspection, testing, verification, validation. | ISO 17000 |
Conformity Assessment System | set of rules and procedures for the management of similar or related conformity assessment schemes | ISO 17000 |
DANAK | National Accreditation Body officially appointed in Denmark | DANAK website |
Directive 825/2024 | Directive (EU) 2024/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 February 2024 amending Directives 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU as regards empowering consumers for the green transition through better protection against unfair practices and through better information | |
EA – European Cooperation Accreditation | EA is a not-for-profit association and the umbrella organization for the national accreditation bodies in Europe. Its primary role is to develop and maintain a harmonized accreditation infrastructure across Europe, ensuring that accredited conformity assessment results (such as testing, certification, and inspection) are recognized across borders. | EA website |
First party conformity assessment | conformity assessment activity that is performed by the person or organization that provides or that is the object of conformity assessment | ISO 17000 |
Green Claims Directive | The Green Claims Directive is a legislative proposal by the European Union aimed at regulating the use of environmental claims made by companies about their products, services, and operations. This initiative is part of the EU’s broader strategy to promote sustainable consumption and production, ensure consumer protection, and support the transition to a circular economy. | |
IAF – International Accreditation Forum | The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) is a global association of accreditation bodies delivering accreditation for conformity assessment bodies in various fields, including management systems, products, services, and personnel. The primary role of the IAF is to ensure that the certifications issued by accredited bodies are reliable, trusted, and accepted internationally. |
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Impartiality | objectivity with regard to the outcome of a conformity assessment activity | IAF website |
Independence | freedom of a person or organization from the control or authority of another person or organization | ISO 17000 |
ISO 17029 | Conformity assessment — General principles and requirements for validation and verification bodies | ISO 17000 |
ISO 17065 | Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services | ISO website |
ISO 14024 | Environmental labels and declarations — Type I environmental labelling — Principles and procedures | ISO website |
ISO 17000 | Conformity assessment — Vocabulary and general principles | ISO website |
ISO 17007 | Conformity assessment — Guidance for drafting normative documents suitable for use for conformity assessment | ISO website |
ISO 17067 | Conformity assessment — Fundamentals of product certification and guidelines for product certification schemes | ISO website |
MLA – Multilateral Recognition Arrangement | agreement among multiple accreditation bodies to recognize and accept each other’s accreditation processes and decisions. This arrangement is crucial in promoting mutual recognition and facilitating international trade and cooperation, as it helps to reduce the need for multiple assessments and certifications for products, services, or systems. | ISO website |
MS | Member State (of the European Union) | IAF website |
NAB – National Accreditation Body | AB designated by one of the EU Member States under the provisions of Regulation 765/2008 |
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Regulation 765/2008 | Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93 | Regulation 765/2008 |
Second party conformity assessment | conformity assessment activity that is performed by a person or organization that has a user interest in the object of conformity assessment | |
SO – Scheme Owner | person or organization responsible for the development and maintenance of a conformity assessment system or conformity assessment scheme | ISO 17000 |
Third party conformity assessment | conformity assessment activity that is performed by a person or organization that is independent of the provider of the object of conformity assessment and has no user interest in the object | ISO 17000 |
Verification | confirmation of truthfulness through the provision of objective evidence that specified requirements have been fulfilled | ISO 17000 |